1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a gate. More particularly, this invention relates to a gate system and apparatus comprising at least one arm that extends in length to create a barrier that substantially prevents access through the gate and that retracts in length to eliminate the barrier and substantially allow access through the gate.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of gates has become more and more pervasive in society. For example, gates are commonly used to prevent unauthorized access to an individual's premises, such as a business or residential property. As yet another example, gates are also commonly used to portion off portions of a residential home to confine a pet to a particular area, thereby ensuring the pet does not cause unwanted damage to other areas of the home. Gates similar to those used to restrict the movement of pets are also commonly used to prevent toddlers from accessing certain areas of a home. For example, those gates may be used to prevent a toddler from going up or down stairs, which helps ensure the toddler is not injured.
While the gates described above have proven useful for their primary purpose (i.e., limiting access to a specified area), they presently have a number of drawbacks. For example, they are typically bulky and consume a significant amount of space. As such, they are generally not aesthetically pleasing and require more than the desired amount of space. In the case of gates used for restricting the movement of a toddler or pet, such gates are often not sturdy, and thus are susceptible to tipping or falling over, which can damage walls or doors and present an injury hazard to children and pets. Moreover, the aforementioned gates also pose significant tripping hazards, as they typically require at least one lower lateral portion that extends the entire length of the gate to provide support. Further, such gates generally have static physical dimensions, which means that they may not properly fit into passage ways of a certain size.
Therefore, a need remains for a gate that efficiently uses space, is aesthetically pleasing, is sturdy, is able to adapt to the size of various passageways and/or that reduces or eliminates tripping hazards, while at the same time achieving the primary purpose of limiting or preventing access to a specific area.